Gorgeous cantilevering green-roofed home soars over Beverly Hills

Who needs a tree house when you can live here? This magnificent private residence in Southern California is nestled into a hillside surrounded by over 130 protected oak trees. Inspired by the beauty of the site, Los Angeles-based Walker Workshop gave Oak Pass House exquisite detailing, including large glazed surfaces combined with rough walls that look like they grew out of the supporting ridge. The client is a concert violinist who wanted a home suitable for hosting private classical-music performances. Well, he got that, and so much more.

The building sits atop a ridge a few hundred meters away from the guesthouse built to allow the owner to oversee construction of the main house. With 8,000 square feet of floor space, the house towers over the landscape and features a planted roof, underground bedrooms and an infinity pool. An almost processional pathway leads to the reception area and into the main living room and dining room. The kitchen, connected to the green roof via a staircase, cantilevers over a terrace and offers gorgeous views of the landscape. The infinity pools stretches along the terrace below near one of the largest oak trees on the site.

The internal angular courtyard was designed in contrast with the rest of the house; it features opaque walls with few openings and provides a tranquil space surrounded by glass corridors that lead into various bedrooms. The spaces contained within this volume, which also includes a wine store, auditorium, gymnasium and lounge and was built from structural concrete, stay cool during hot summer days.